Michael Wilbon: Black Folks and analytics don't mix

[DarrynCobretti]

I'm black, played sports my entire life and I love analytics. I also know a quite of few nikkas on other messageboards that fukk with analytics heavy as well.
I also know one person irl that values analytics, my uncle who is a AAU coach. Fam's bball IQ so crazy sometimes when he kickin knowledge about the game I have to tell him to slow down and let me comprehend lol.



To me advanced metrics are great because of the predictive ability and it uncovers intricate details that that are naked to the eye yet critically impact the game.
Like in any industry, production and efficiency correlate with desired achievement in sports. There's a reason why the billion dollar gambling industry in the US, uses advanced metrics such as algorithms and other statistical modeling techniques, some of which are even patented due to their accurate predicative power (and not the eye test) to create odds used and released by Vegas bookmakers for public consumption and manipulating gamblers (especially the less informed gamblers who bet solely using the eye test and emotion).


Basically analytics offer another perspective in sports and filters out the common misconceptions or biased opinions made from smart dumb muhfukkas who think they know more than about the game than they actually know.


Any nikka who absolutely hates statistics and loves to just go by the eye test,gut feelings and biased, ho-motional attachment to players who don't even know they exist
...are nikkas I know not to even engage or respect their opinion about sports.

With that said, stats and analytics without context are useless.

To form the best and most complete perspective is to use a combination of both the eye-test and analytics. The most knowledgeable people about sports are usually people who played sports and use both to create/present their informed opinions. They tend to have a nice, unbiased "facts only" approach speaking bout the game.


Any grown ass men who only goes by the eye test and don't believe in statistics or analytics are the type of nikkas who prolly watch a ball game and see a nikka on a losing team go 13-39 from the field and have a couple flashy dunks and euro-steps on a fast break, then think dude had some terrific game.
I can't trust nikkas like that, they same type of funny style cat to quit or start the game over when you givin them that work on 2k.

 

[philmonroe]

I'm not reading this whole thread. The article was stupid. The only time anybody talks analytics is on message boards and sports radio/netz. Ain't a race thing. Not only that but anyone who rejects more knowledge just because is being willfully ignorant. Analytics are just better stats that give a better picture of what happens on the court. Points per possession is a more accurate representation of how good an offense/defense is than points per game for example. When you know more about WHAT happens you can dig more into the WHY and then have a better understanding of the game

I agree the article is stupid but moreso because he should have based it on the next sentence you wrote. If he did that instead of making just seem like black thing I'd be 100% with him. Like you said only online and on sports talk places does this shyt come up but per the norm a lot of,these goof troop nikkas on here acting like that's how they really talk about sports off here. FOH. That's the shyt that burns me on top of Wilbon not making that distinction. I don't really worry about what white folks or anybody else thinks like most others either. If you know you like/love numbers you should feel all defensive about it where cats making themselves look like online dummies trying to show how down they are. Again Wilbon would have been better just saying outside of the net/sports shows ain't nobody regardless of race kicking analytics talk like that.

 

[J-Fire]

a single turnover or a single era is a big deal in football and baseball respectively.

teams have multiple turnovers in basketball and still win. one turnover doesn't ruin you in basketball.

 

[Remote]

It's all stats analysis.
It's all analytics.

Citing a player's PPG/RPG/APG is just a less advanced version of citing WS, VORP or whatever else people today use.

Are there issues with the newer stats? Of course. No single stat is going to completely define any player.

 

[Trece]

Analytics are for phakkits.

You have some players that play for their stats.. going hard to stat pad in garbage time and NOT taking shots in big moments to protect their FG%. Analytics can never measure a players mentality. It can never measure killer instinct and it doesnt take the intangibles into account, like setting hard screens, denying the passing lanes, making other defenses double and triple team so it messes with the whole game plan and most importantly it can never measure will to win, intimidation and just how much certain players can plant seeds of doubt in other players mind on the mental aspect of the game alone. Until analytics can measure those things, you can take those stats and shove em up your ass.

 

[hayesc0]

a single turnover or a single era is a big deal in football and baseball respectively.

teams have multiple turnovers in basketball and still win. one turnover doesn't ruin you in basketball.

Not accurate every possession can be crucial in basketball also as long as its not a blowout.

 

[hayesc0]

Analytics are for phakkits.

You have some players that play for their stats.. going hard to stat pad in garbage time and NOT taking shots in big moments to protect their FG%. Analytics can never measure a players mentality. It can never measure killer instinct and it doesnt take the intangibles into account, like setting hard screens, denying the passing lanes, making other defenses double and triple team so it messes with the whole game plan and most importantly it can never measure will to win, intimidation and just how much certain players can plant seeds of doubt in other players mind on the mental aspect of the game alone. Until analytics can measure those things, you can take those stats and shove em up your ass.

This is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard no one is saying you just strictly use analytics to judge a player but to dismiss it totally is just stupid. Its the same way you dont just use traditional stats to judge a player but it is part of the analysis of a players accomplishments and ability.

 

[Trece]

This is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard no one is saying you just strictly use analytics to judge a player but to dismiss it totally is just stupid. Its the same way you dont just use traditional stats to judge a player but it is part of the analysis of a players accomplishments and ability.

I am not saying to dismiss it totally... but when I see PER, WS, RPM and WARP being used to rank players all time that is where I draw the line.

 

[FunkDoc1112]

I mean, I've never come across someone who supports analytics that thinks stats are more important than actually watching games

Yeah, these type of people are just voodoo strawmen that the anti-analytic crowd makes up. The only people like that are dweebs like the 538 folks who get openly mocked by the rest of the basketball community anyway.

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

I am not saying to dismiss it totally... but when I see PER, WS, RPM and WARP being used to rank players all time that is where I draw the line.

When will you dudes stop mistaking APBRmetrics for being analytics?